Participants braved the heat Saturday morning for the annual Races for All Paces fundraising event at O’Brien Stadium. 

The fundraiser hosted a 10K, 5K and mile run/walk followed by a Toddler Trot and Diaper Dash for the younger participants. 

All funds raised at the event go toward supporting the Sarah Bush Lincoln Dental program, according to Director of Healthy Communities at Sarah Bush Lincoln Tracy Haddock. 

Last year, the event raised just over $17,000 with this year’s goal being over $20,000, Haddock said. 

While the fundraiser is the primary benefit of Races for All Paces, Haddock said getting families to be active together is another core benefit. 

“You can have a mom who’s gonna run her first 5K and then she can come back and walk the mile with her child, and that’s their first mile,” Haddock said. 

Another example of this secondary benefit was seen with Eastern Illinois University Vice President for Enrollment Management Josh Norman and his son, Louis. 

Josh and Louis ran the 5K and have done so together for three years. They began after Louis mentioned the event to his dad following an advertising event held at his school. 

Josh placed 30th with a time of 27:08, and Louis finished 16th with a time of 24:24. 

“I’m just trying to keep up with him as long as I possibly can,” Josh said. “It used to be I had to slow down to make sure we could run together, and now I can maybe stay with him for about two tenths of a mile and then he’s off in the distance like a little speck.” 

Josh also said he loved how inclusive the event was. 

“You got folks pushing strollers and you got people running 7-minute pace,” he said. “It’s the same reason I love pickleball: everybody together doing a community event.” 

For the 10K race, Layton Hall finished first with a watch time of 32:24. Hall works at SBL as an exercise specialist. 

“I’m not sure how good of shape I was going to be in for a 10K because I’ve been hitting a lot of longer workouts lately,” he said. “I wasn’t sure how the shorter distance was going to be for me, but I’m pretty pleased with it.” 

Hall first began running in sixth grade via track and cross country and grew to like it over time. 

This was Hall’s first time running for the event following his loss in a trainer challenge at SBL that resulted in him wearing an inflatable suit while running the mile. 

Paul Howarth finished the 10K in second place with a watch time of 36:03. 

Howarth grew up in England and came to the United States through a cross country scholarship. He stayed in the country because his wife, Erin Howarth, used to coach EIU’s cross country teams. 

Despite living in the area, this is only his second time participating in the event. 

“It’s really in my backyard, so I see the signs and then I see it online too,” he said. “I’d rather be doing it than watching it go past my house.” 

Contrary to years past, the event ran out of medals, Haddock said. This stemmed from an increase in participation with 116 people in the 10K, 394 people in the 5K and 284 people in the mile. 

“I know that little kid coming across the finish line for the mile, you know, I want them to get their medal,” she said. “We have some adults that said, ‘Hey, I don’t need one,’ so we’ve got generous people that help us to be able to make that happen.” 

Haddock’s favorite part of the event was watching the people, referencing a moment where she was nearly brought to tears as little kids ran their first mile, just like her grandkids. 

“It was just moving to watch him move,” Haddock said. “It’s just so fun to watch kids get active and fit.” 

Luke Brewer can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].